Haru Yoshida
|pairing badge = |height = 178 cm (5'10")}}Haru Yoshida (吉田 春, lit. Yoshida Haru) is the male protagonist of the series Tonari no Kaibutsu-Kun. He appears as a a high school first year student who attends the same school and same class as the female protagonist named Shizuku Mizutani. He was suspended from school because of having a misunderstanding with upperclassmen before the start of the manga/anime, but his suspension was over by the time the story starts. Appearance Haru (21).jpg Haru (12).jpg Haru (20).jpg Haru (30).jpg Haru 2.png Haru (130.jpg Haru and Yamaken.jpg Haru 1.png Young Haru.png Haru child.png Haru expressions.png Haru.jpg 01 07.png Chapter 1 of TNKK.jpg Haru is a handsome young man with messy, curly, black hair that falls over his face and almost reaches his shoulders in length and also it is shown that he has muscular build. In Robico's color illustrations Haru's eyes are usually brown, sometimes gray and occasionally other colors. In the anime, his eyes are gray. He was known as the school "monster" and started off as intimidating, but after Shizuku's compliment he should try smiling more, he focused on smiling and gained popularity quickly. His usual outfit is the school uniform: a white dress shirt with a blue tie, grey checked pants, and white Converse sneakers. Personality Haru appears to be a violent, intimidating person even though he means well. As the plot progresses, it is revealed that his aggressiveness is a front; he is actually quite innocent, naive and very clueless. Haru also has awkward social skills due to a traumatic incident that happened during middle-school. Since then, he became unable to properly communicate with people except for when he's with Shizuku Mizutani. Despite appearing like a pessimistic cynical person, he is actually quite the nice person. Aside from being passive aggressive and violent he is unpredictable and sometimes does not think before he speaks. He impulsively does what he pleases, such as raising Shizuku's skirt in front of her father or asking Shizuku where her mother is. He is honest and means well in everything that he does. Haru is very intelligent in school. He often receives first place marks without needing to study. Because of this, Haru tries little to none when it comes to school and this often irritates Shizuku, who hates to come in second in grades. Despite seeing Shizuku as his first true friend (and love), when it comes to relating with others, he is still clueless most of the time, but is persistent and doesn't give up easily. He is also very protective about the people that he cares about. He can be jealous (for example, if he sees Kenji Yamaguchi anywhere near Shizuku), and can get violent and quite possessive. History Haru always hated his father, and although Haru and Yūzan Yoshida (Haru's older brother) were once close, Haru now despises Yūzan. When they were young and their parents divorced, Haru and Yūzan went to live in the countryside with Tone. It is shown there that Haru and Yūzan were very close, and that Yūzan was very proud of his brother. When they were called back to the Yoshida residence, Haru was shocked at the change of environment. Yūzan would often say "I will create a place for you to belong." but as time went on, because of Yūzan's wish to meet the family's expectations and to be accepted by them, he later grows jealous of Haru and grows to resent him because all the attention went to him, as the reason they were called back to the Yoshida residence was Haru's intelligence. When Haru became sad that Yūzan was smiling less often and spending less time with him, his grades dropped, and because of the problems he caused, he was kicked out of his house and went to live with Kyoko Misawa (Haur's paternal aunt). While he was there, Haru was a shy, rebellious and very reserved person. His aunt often saw him destroying glass and other things at home. His intelligence was only recognized by his aunt, and not himself. Kyoko often told Haru things like "What makes us human? Education, language use and lastly Love." and "Humans anguish alone; and the unique medicine to this, is to find other people". These phrases forever marked Haru, but the main phrase Haru remembers was "I hope that you find the right person one day". Haru often reflects about this. After Kyoko's death, Haru went to live with Mitsuyoshi Misawa (Haru's older cousin). It is also mentioned that Haru went to the same school as Yamaken when they were young. Haru was also bullied by Yamaken when they were young and Yūzan would protect him. Relationships Shizuku Mizutani Shizuku is Haru's classmate and love interest. Shizuku and Haru first met when their teacher Saeko Ninomiya bribed Shizuku with approximately 3,800 Yen to bring Yoshida Haru some class readings and homework. After their first encounter, Haru became attracted to Shizuku and attends school to see Shizuku more often. Haru confesses his love for Shizuku after she stood up for him against Kenji and his friends. Shizuku turned him down and the two of them continued their friendship. After being kissed, Shizuku decided to confess to Haru over time that she loved him and that she meant it. He rejected her, and told her that their concept of love were completely opposite. Shizuku brushed it off, and told him that she'll wait for him until they meet eye-to-eye; perhaps then, they'll happily be together. Haru unconsciously hit on Shizuku during the course of their friendship and that resulted in a downgrade of Shizuku's rank, from #2 to #29. Shizuku decidedly pushed Haru away to focus more on her studies, and that's when Haru remembered what Aunt Kyoko told him before she died: to "find people whose presence is enough to soothe his pain." When he realized that it was Shizuku who soothed him everyday, he told her that he loved her. Once Haru realizes he's in love with Shizuku, he became inseparable and almost clingy. He licked her hand on one occasion when she tried to give him tickets to the school festival and nearly kissed her when she waited to give him a present from Asako on the way home. Haru easily gets jealous and erratic when Shizuku is with another guy, especially Kenji Yamaguchi. He even tells her to avoid his brother for her own good. When Shizuku realizes that she still loves Haru from the time of the very first confession, and that she was only running away from her true feelings because of her grades suffering due to her inability to control her emotions and the fact that she always thinks about Haru. She asks him to give her more time to think about their relationship. Kenji started to fall in love with Shizuku during this time, and Haru became overly jealous and protective. Haru and Shizuku officially became a couple after Kenji's unrequited love and rejected confession to Shizuku. Their relationship later became difficult because of Yūzan Yoshida (Haru's older brother). Haru went oversea for Tuna Fishing for approximately a year. He wrote a letter to Shizuku and told her in the letter that what he said had said before about his feelings and how they'll never change, had changed a bit now that he loves her more. He came back to Japan after Shizuku's high school graduation and they re-united. Three and a half years later, Haru and Shizuku have gotten married (which now makes her Shizuku Yoshida). Friends Asako Natsume They first met when Haru asked her where Shizuku was in class. She later asks Shizuku to help her study for her make-up exams, and after Shizuku's rejection, Haru agreed to help her study on a condition that she takes him to her offline community meet and greet. She agrees, and their friendship progresses there on. She often encourages Haru to become more of "the man" in the relationship and to be less clueless (hinting that perhaps he shouldn't unconsciously give Chizuru, a girl in love with Haru, false hope). Kenji Yamaguchi Kenji is one of the boys Haru hung out with before he met Shizuku. Unlike Sasahara, Haru remembers going to middle-school with Kenji. Haru thought Kenji was really his friend during his suspension but after Shizuku pointed out how they use Haru for money, he developed a distaste for Kenji. Haru is often jealous when Kenji is near Shizuku and impulsively punches Kenji when he does things to irk Haru, like putting his arm around Shizuku. Kenji only got close to Shizuku to irk Haru, but his feelings became sincere and ended up falling in love with her, making things more complicated for Haru and Shizuku. Sōhei Sasahara Sasahara is one of Haru's classmates and friends. Sasahara is the only character who knew Haru before anyone else in their group. They used to go to middle school together and Sasahara was able to recall some of Haru's more violent moments. However, Haru barely remembers anything from middle school and didn't even remember Sasahara being in his class. Their friendship develops more as the series progresses, and becomes close friends. Family Kyoko Misawa Kyoko is Haru's late paternal aunt and former guardian. She took Haru in after his father kicked him out of the Yoshida house. Haru had difficulties settling in. He'd purposely break things and call his aunt names, but she still loved and care for him through and through. She taught him life lessons and academic subjects; she'd feed his worth with praise. Haru came to care for his aunt and still reminisce about her wise words and affection even after her passing. Mitsuyoshi Misawa Mitsuyoshi is Haru's older cousin. He has allowed Haru to live with him after his mother's death. He acts like an older brother to Haru by teasing him and messing with him. Natsume even assumed they were brothers through their interaction with each other. He often warns Haru whenever Yūzan comes looking for him. It's never clearly mentioned why he doesn't like Yūzan, but it's possible that he sees Yūzan as a negative threat to Haru. Taizo Yoshida Taizo is Haru's father. In the manga, Taizo was a strict and conservative man who only considered himself before others. Like Yuzan, Haru doesn't have a good relationship with his father, only worse. Haru was never respectful towards his father and seemed to cause trouble for him. Taizo kicked Haru out of his house because of Haru's fights and sent him to his sister's. Sometime later, Taizo changed his mind and sent Yūzan to take Haru back. It wasn't mentioned why Taizo suddenly had a change of heart, but Haru's refusal is stable even though Yūzan persisted. Yūzan Yoshida Yūzan is Haru's older brother. Haru wants nothing to do with his brother and runs at the sight of him. Yūzan calls Haru a coward most of the time, but seems to genuinely care for Haru even though he seems to have malicious plans against Haru. Yūzan and Haru used to be close brothers and would play with one another all the time. In the manga, Yūzan distanced himself from Haru out of jealousy because Haru received more care from his parents than he did. He resented Haru because of this. Later in the anime, it is revealed that Yūzan and Haru went at the same middle school as Kenji, and Yūzan would defend Haru from Kenji's bullying. When Yūzan returned at his father's request, he made it clear with his actions that he could be a genuine caring person. Teachers Saeko Ninomiya Other than Kyoko, Saeko is the only other female adult who Haru interacts with. She was the only one at school who wanted Haru to come back because she didn't want him to be expelled from school. Even though she's part of the reason why he's back at school, she is often intimidated by Haru and they don't get along very well. Later, Nagoya was brought to school Saeko lectures Haru about bringing a chicken to school. Sasahara and Asako persuaded Saeko that chickens were kept at their past schools, and Saeko was considerate enough to ask the faculty for permission. Trivia *The name Haru (春) means "spring". *Haru's surname Yoshida 'means "lucky, good" (吉) ('yoshi) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (da). *Haru's blood type is O. *When Haru was young, he spent the majority of his time alone by himself. *Essentially, Haru doesn’t have any special interests in people but after knowing Shizuku Mizutani, aunt Kyoko Misawa and Oga-sensei, the kind of people who showed concern for him, it seems that he has become a person who likes steady quietness. *Haru really likes games like the Rubik’s cube, origami, etc. where in he can play all by himself. *In the original concept, Haru was meant to have straight, light brown hair. *While it has not been confirmed, some believe that Haru has Asperger's Syndrome, due to him appearing to have the following symptoms (sourced from http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/tc/aspergers-syndrome-symptoms#1) ** Not pick up on social cues and may lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others' body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking. ** Dislike any changes in routines. ** Have a formal style of speaking that is advanced for his or her age. *Another more plausible hypothesis, would be that Haru has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It also is interesting pointing out that some people tend to misdiagnose ADD with Asperger's Syndrome and viceversa. Haru exhibits the typical impulsiveness and inattentiveness from the ADD spectrum (getting into fights, problems with discipline, always doing something else, like taking care of his chicken). Haru's difficulties with social interaction can also be explained by this diagnosis, as some children with this condition have difficulties communicating or interacting not because of a difficulty in exercising empathy, but only simply because they fail to pick up social clues due to their inattentiveness. Quote * "I'm making a barricade because there are sick people out there. I name this barricade, "Mizutani Shizuku!" * "Forget that! Did you guys break the watermelon together?" * "I didn't find any crayfish for you. Well, I did but it wasn't moving and it was hiding underneath a leaf." * "'Class 1-B Yoshida Haru's pet. Touch it, and I'll kill you.'" * "Every time I tell Shizuku how I feel, things only get worse... I think I have to resort to force." * "Shizuku! Help, I'm being robbed! They asked me for my money!" * "Shizuku! Help, I'm so nervous my legs won't move!" * "Shizuku's the one that's always changing. I wonder if she's going to leave me behind one day... makes me consider ripping off her arms and legs." * "Ever since I confessed, I've been having these... urges." * "I think I like you!" (Eh?! In a friendship way?) "No, in a sexual way!" * "I tried to go through the front door, but your dad was surprised 'cause he didn't know school was off today. He also told me not to tell you that he was home before chasing me off." * "Hey. I let myself in." (Greeting Shizuku's dad after breaking in the house through the window.) * "Remember me when you look at the moon." * "There's a reason they call me...Unbridled Instinct." * "Get up, I feel like being a love machine." * "It's like, the feeling before the storm. You know it's gonna hit soon. Yet it's your choice whether or not you bitch out." '' * ''"I love you" (But just so you know...) "You're not in love with me anymore, right? I know that. I just want to be with you." Sypnosis Navigation Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Syoko High School Category:Main Characters